Emperor Norton’s 200th Birthday Celebration

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In 2015, The Emperor’s Bridge Campaign held its first birthday party for Emperor Norton — an event at which presented the original research showing that, most likely, Joshua Abraham Norton was born on February 4, 1818.

Previous biographers had offered 1818 as the year of Emperor Norton’s birth, but none had made the case for a specific date nor had they explained why the birth year — 1819 — inscribed on the Emperor’s gravestone is mistaken.

Emperor Norton’s 200th Birthday Celebration
February 2018 | Various Locations
Most events are free

Sunday, February 4, 2018 is the 200th anniversary of the birth of Emperor Norton and to celebrate this momentous and high occasion, The Emperor’s Bridge Campaign is producing: Emperor Norton at 200 — a series of exhibits, talks, toasts and other special events in February 2018 and throughout the bicentennial year.

Schedule of Events

Will The Real Emperor Please Stand Up?
A Lecture & Pop-Up Exhibit in Celebration of the Emperor Norton Bicentennial
Thursday, February 1 | California Historical Society

Emperor Norton’s 200th Birthday Free Lunch
Sunday, February 4 | Comstock Saloon

Emperor Norton’s 200th Birthday Bash
Wednesday, February 7 | Mechanics’ Institute

The Literary Emperor
The Best Proclamations of Emperor Norton That You’ve Never Heard Of
Thursday, February 15 | San Francisco Public Library (Main Library)

Exhibits

The Emperor In The Library: A Rare Display
Thurs, February 1 | California Historical Society

Emperor Norton, Larger Than Life
January 28 – March 2, 2018
San Francisco History Center / San Francisco Public Library (Main Library)

Imperial; Five Portraits of Joshua Norton
January 24 – March 11, 2018
Society of California Pioneers Museum and Library